Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for four young people, male or female, up to the age of 18. The home offers a holistic care package for young people who have emotional or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who has been registered with Ofsted since September 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/05/2018 Full Good 30/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/05/2017 Full Good 12/10/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)) 14/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)) 14/02/2020

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Recommendations

 Staff must help each young person to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the young person to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the young person is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 4 ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. Wherever possible, this should be with an adult not involved in the restraint. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. Where there is indication that there has been a shortfall in practice, this must be fully explored and addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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improvement to be good

Young people who currently live in the home receive a good standard of care and support. They enjoy positive relationships with staff who understand their needs and the things that are important to them. This supports their progress and general well-being.

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improvement to be good

However, a number of young people’s placements have broken down following their admission, as they have not made good progress. Some young people have experienced unpleasant events due to the negative behaviours of their fellow residents, which at times have had a destabilising effect on the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage young people to engage in their learning programmes. In addition, the manager has worked closely with professionals to provide a range of further education and vocational opportunities for young people. However, progress is mixed, and some young people have struggled to sustain attendance.

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improvement to be good

Young people are closely supported to maintain valued relationships. Staff work positively with families and carers and facilitate contact arrangements safely. As a result, young people benefit from improved relationships with people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s interests and likes. Opportunities to engage in fun and fulfilling activities are provided and young people have enjoyed holidays with staff. Young people are encouraged to develop new skills. One young Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 5 person spoke enthusiastically about his driving lessons, which have been provided by the home.

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improvement to be good

Some young people are starting to prepare for independence. Staff are supporting them to develop skills, which will enable them to progress when they move on to settings with less support. Individualised plans, detailing young people’s strengths and needs would help to ensure that they are supported to develop independence skills in a more planned and consistent way. A recommendation is raised to support this improvement.

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improvement to be good

Young people say that they feel safe and well cared for and confirm that they are confident to share any concerns or worries with staff. Regular, good-quality direct work with young people helps to educate them in important areas, such as safe relationships and internet safety. This supports young people to develop their knowledge and understanding and to make safer decisions.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. They generally respond promptly to safeguarding concerns, such as disclosures from young people. However, in one example the record of action taken in response to concerns about a staff member was unclear. It was not possible to ascertain whether the appropriate actions required to immediately safeguard young people had been taken.

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improvement to be good

The staff team members know the current young people well and have a clear understanding of risks to their safety and well-being. There are examples of good-quality risk assessments and clear risk management plans. However, when considering whether to admit new young people, there has been a failure to make effective use of impact risk assessments. In addition, the potential impact of new young people on those already living in the home has not always been properly considered. This means that young people’s safety and well-being have not been consistently promoted.

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improvement to be good

Some young people have responded well to positive routines, structures and clear expectations. For example, they have reduced high-risk behaviours, such as going missing from home or being involved in antisocial behaviour. One young person’s parent described how he had developed safer ways to manage his emotions, which she felt was due to the consistently positive support he receives at the home.

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improvement to be good

Young people receive regular incentives and are consistently rewarded for making positive choices. Physical interventions are rarely required with the current group of young people. When they do occur, they are appropriately recorded and monitored by the manager. It was identified that young people’s debriefings are not always carried out by someone independent of the incident. This should be addressed to help ensure that young people feel able to raise any concerns. Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a suitably experienced and qualified manager in post who has been registered with Ofsted since September 2019. The manager has developed positive relationships with staff and young people and made improvements to the home’s leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback regarding the management of the home is consistently positive. Parents, staff and external professionals express confidence in the management team and describe its members as approachable and highly supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been occasions when managers have failed to make effective use of impact risk assessments. This means that young people who are not well matched to the home have been admitted and several emergency admissions have been made without appropriate planning. This has had a negative impact on the progress and experiences of some young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are carefully recruited and undergo a detailed training programme to help ensure that they have the skills and knowledge required to carry out their roles effectively. Staff spoken with said that they felt well supported and were complimentary about the training they received. Regular supervision enables staff and managers to discuss areas including personal development, performance and any concerns either party may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are processes in place to enable the manager to monitor standards of safety and quality on a continuous basis. These have recently been reviewed and improved, which will assist the manager in identifying required improvements and areas for development more promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that all relevant parties are notified about any significant events that occur within the home. In general, sufficient action is taken in response to significant events. However, it was identified during this inspection that there had been a failure to fully investigate information that indicated some shortfalls in staff practice. It is important that any such incidents are thoroughly investigated so that any relevant learning can be identified and used to support continuous improvement.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 7 Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well

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Information about this inspection

it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Road, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1225136 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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